Contents Chapter 1: Introduction and Background
Chapter 2: Hard Skills Vs Soft Skills 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Introduction Definition of Soft Skills and Hard skills Difference between Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills Soft Skills and its benefits Improving one’s personality through soft Skills Exercises to practice Videos to reinforce Points to remember
Chapter 3: Self-Awareness and Self-Management 1. Introduction 2. Understanding self through personal SWOT analysis 3. Key areas of Self Awareness 3.1 Personality 3.2 Values 3.3 Habits 3.4 Needs 3.5 Emotions
4. Self-Management Skills 4.1 Definition and examples
5. Awareness on social evils like drugs, smoking, Alcohol, vagabonding Exercises to practice Videos to reinforce Points to remember
Contents Chapter 4: Socialization & Interpersonal Skills 1. Introduction 2. Socialization affecting interpersonal traits 3. Communication Skills 4. Listening Skills- An important skill to succeed both personally & professionally 4.1 Improving Listening skills 4.2 Barriers to Listening Skills 5. Assertiveness 5.1 Assertiveness Vs Aggressiveness 5.2 Developing Assertiveness 5.3 Role of Assertiveness at workplace Exercises to practice Videos to reinforce Points to remember
Chapter 5: Communicative English 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Introduction English as a Confidence building tool Introduction Why Vocabulary?? Word power Commonly Confused Words Subject Specific Jargon Activity based writing
Exercises to practice Videos to reinforce Points to remember
Chapter 1 Introduction and Background Objectives After studying this Chapter, reader will be able to Know about Avinash College of Commerce Learn about the importance of Soft skills Learn how soft skills can enhance employability skills
About us Avinash Group of Institutions is a five year old brand, with a spread across the most happening places of Hyderabad. We are a conglomerate of ‘Experienced professionals’ armed with high standards of Pedagogical skills in the field of education churning out students with job ready skills. Avinash group offers skilled programs in commerce & Management, with an endeavour to move our students towards an all-encompassing and balanced growth through knowledge sharing with an acute focus in building their Employability Skills, Capacities and Career. Employability skills are the skills needed to enter, stay in, and progress in the world of work—whether self-employed or working for a corporate.
“As many as 97% of graduates want jobs either in software or core engineering. But only 3% have suitable skills to be employed in software or product market and only 7% can handle core management or engineering tasks”
Employability Skills include communication, problem solving, positive attitudes and behaviors, adaptability, working with others, and science, technology, and mathematical skills. Understanding and applying these skills will help to participate and progress in the world of work. We at Avinash, adopt advanced levels of teaching and evaluative methodology based on case studies, real life situations and interactive sessions.
Exposure to Rote learning is preventing many a student from conceptual learning which is the main impediment to getting employed. In this backdrop evaluation is more on quantity than quality resulting in the student getting thrown out of the learning curve. Rote learning does not allow students to develop a deeper meaning of a subject or extend their understanding about relevant information levels.
Benefits Trainers at Avinash have taken up the challenge of bringing in a change in the attitudinal levels of today’s student to make them aligned to the societal essentials both at a personal and professional level and close in the gap of a dearth in quality manpower at the market place. Here quality is directly linked to the ability to get employed. Employability skills are those skills necessary for getting, keeping and being successful in a job. They are the skills and attitudes that enable employees to get along with their colleagues, to make critical decisions, solve problems, develop respect and ultimately become strong ambassadors for the organization. Our modules are designed to acquaint the passing out students to the industry requirements and aligning them to the existing work culture. The student is helped to navigate through the grind of various industry processes and norms, thus allowing him to familiarize himself with the kind of talent pool that the industry is scouting for.
Industry Requirements
Good Communication Teamwork Problem solving Initiative and enterprise Planning and organizing Self-management Learning Technology
Chapter 2 Hard Skills Vs Soft Skills Learning objectives After studying this Chapter, reader will be able to Have an insight about the importance of both Hard and Soft Skills Understand the importance of Domain Know-how (Hard Skills) Develop effective communication skills Develop effective presentation skills Develop all-round personality with a mature outlook to function effectively in differing circumstances Develop broad career plans, evaluate the employment market, identify organizations to get good placement, develop requisites to get a good placement
1. Introduction Soft Skills are gaining significant importance in the backdrop of deteriorating value systems, especially amongst the youth of today. Soft Skills in isolation cannot do much good without hard skills. Both are imperative for a successful career. Hard Skills take you to the Interview board room while soft skills help in getting hired and keeping the job. Both together carry the magic wand of getting a job and sustaining it.
2. Definition of Soft Skills & Hard Skills Soft Skills are defined as Personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people. In job descriptions, employers often ask for a combination of hard and soft skills. Hard skills are related to specific technical knowledge and training while s oft skills are personality traits such as leadership, communication or time management. Both types of skills are necessary to successfully perform and advance in most jobs.
3. Difference between Soft Skills & Hard Skills The key differences between hard skills and soft skills are how they are gained and put to use in the workplace. Hard skills are often gained through education or specific training. They include competencies like how to use a certain machine, software or other tool. Soft skills are more often seen as personality traits you may have spent your whole life developing. They are called upon when you manage your time, communicate with other people or confront a difficult situation for the first time. Put another way, hard skills could be defined as your technical knowledge whereas soft skills are your overall habits in the workplace.
4. Benefits of Soft Skills
Ability to communicate effectively with co-workers, employers, clients and customers, friends and family members Relationship enhancement Improvement of time management, organizational skills & goal setting Development of leadership skills to improve teamwork, creativity, efficiency & productivity Development of presentation skills to enhance sales, project explanations, self-confidence Ability to recognize stress symptoms & develop stress deflecting strategies Effective strategies for transition & change Development of problem solving strategies
5. Improving one’s personality through soft Skills
Become a Better Listener Expanding Your Interest Becoming a Better Conversationalist Meeting New People Polishing Interpersonal Skills Developing Leadership Skills Presentation Skills Treating People With Respect
Data Analysis Machine Language Software programming Machine operation Accounting Graphic designing Medical & First Aid Foreign Languages Degrees, Diplomas & Certificates
Leadership Skills Companies want employees who can supervise and direct other workers. Assess, motivate, encourage, build teams, resolve conflicts, and help to create the desired culture.
Leadership Teamwork Communication skills Problem Solving Skills Work Ethics Flexibility & Adaptability Interpersonal Skills Stress Management Conflict resolution
Work Ethics Companies expect you to be responsible and do the job that you’re getting paid to do, which includes being punctual when you arrive at work, meeting deadlines.
Teamwork Most employees are part of a team/department/division, and even those who are not on an official team need to collaborate with other employees. Communication skills Successful communication involves five components. Verbal communication, Nonverbal communication, aural communication, Written communication and Visual communication. Problem Solving Skills The ability to use knowledge to find answers to pressing problems and formulate workable solutions will demonstrate that you can handle and excel in your job. Conflict Resolution
Where more than two people exist either at the workplace or home, conflicts are bound to occur. To enable a peaceful coexistence and a smooth functioning of the company, such conflicts have to be resolved.
Flexibility/Adaptability Many companies are not fully staffed, so they want employees who can wear more than one hat and serve in more than one role and adapt to any changing conditions that the company encounters. Interpersonal skills This is a broad category of “people skills” and includes the ability to build and maintain relationships, be tolerant and respectful regarding the opinions of others, and empathize with them. Stress Management Most companies set targets for their workforce. In an effort to accomplish the set targets employees at times experience acute stress. This might act as a major impediment to productivity if stress is not handled effectively.
Points to Remember
Divide the class into groups of five and ask them to brainstorm and answer the following questions: 1. Define Hard and soft skills 2. Give 4 examples of each 3. What skills should you possess for the employer to hire you? 4. “Hard Skills can get you an interview, but Soft skills will get you the job�. Explain. 5. Soft Skills are tangible and require good IQ levels where as Hard Skills are intangible and are EQ levels based. True or False? Rewrite the sentence.
Chapter 3 Self-Awareness and Self-Management Learning objectives After studying this Chapter, reader will be able to
Demonstrate an increased self-awareness and personal understanding Develop skills in effective interpersonal communications Develop the ability to synthesize and integrate information from assessments, feedback, and self-reflections Develop strong working knowledge of managerial and leadership capabilities in a values-entered framework Show competency in managing people and teams Demonstrate the ability to put leadership and influence principles into practice Demonstrate critical thinking skills
1. Introduction Human beings are complex and diverse. Knowing oneself is the most important entity in one’s life. If we are not aware of ourselves, we cannot manage ourselves. To become more self-aware, we should develop an understanding of ourselves in many areas. We should realize who we are. Self-Awareness allows you to understand other people, how they perceive you, your attitudes and your responses to them at that moment. Having awareness creates the opportunity to make changes in behavior and beliefs. Self-awareness is the first step in creating what you want and mastering your life. Where you focus your attention, your emotions, reactions, personality and behavior determine where you go in life. Having self-awareness allows you to see where your thoughts and emotions are taking you. It also allows you to take control of your emotions, behavior, and personality so you can make changes you want. Until you are aware in the moment of your thoughts, emotions, words, and behavior, you will have difficulty making changes in the direction of your life.
2. Understanding ‘Self’ through personal SWOT Analysis “Not knowing self is like drifting where the wind blows. SWOT is a powerful tool to give an insight about our inherent traits. It acts as a tool of introspection which gives a heads up about such qualities which are latent and which can be manifested. Putting to test the inferences drawn from SWOT analysis will divulge attributes of our real self at a given point of time. However, it is important that we adopt this method at frequent intervals during our life’s journey”.
A personal SWOT analysis is very similar to one for business, except that you focus on yourself and your goals. The advantage of a SWOT analysis is that the framework is very flexible. You can therefore use it in a wide variety of circumstances. A personal SWOT analysis, however, may be more useful if you focus on a specific goal or problem that you want to address. This is because we all have a number of very diverse goals. The skills and attributes that may help us towards one goal may be irrelevant, or even a weakness, in another context. A threat in one context could be unimportant in another.
3. Key areas of Self-Analysis Man is considered a Social animal. He was, is and shall continue to live in diversities. Key areas for self-awareness include our personality traits, personal values, habits, emotions, and the psychological needs that drive our behaviors.
3.1 Personality We don't normally change our personalities, values and needs based on what we learn about ourselves. But, an understanding of our personalities can help us find situations in which we will thrive, and help us avoid situations in which we will experience too much stress. For instance, if you are a highly introverted person, you are likely to experience more stress in a sales position than a highly extroverted person would. So, if you are highly introverted, you should either learn skills to cope with the demands of a sales position that requires extravert-type behavior patterns, or you should find a position that is more compatible with your personality. Awareness of your personality helps you analyze such a decision.
3.2 Values It's important that we each know and focus on our personal values. For instance, if our first priority is "being there for your children" or "your relationship with God," it's very easy to lose sight of those priorities on a day-to-day, moment-by-moment basis. During the workday, so many problems and opportunities arise that our lists of "things to do" can easily exceed the time we have to do them. Since few (if any) of those things pertain to what we value most, it's easy to spend too much time on lower priority activities. When we focus on our values, we are more likely to accomplish what we consider most important.
3.3 Habits Our habits are the behaviors that we repeat routinely and often automatically. Although we would like to possess the habits that help us interact effectively with and manage others, we can probably all identify at least one of our habits that decreases our effectiveness. For example, if you are a manager who never consults your staff before making decisions, that habit may interfere with your ability to build your staff members' commitment to the decisions and their decision-making skills as well.
3.4 Needs
* Abraham Harold Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization.
*
Maslow and other scholars have identified a variety of psychological needs that drive our behaviors such as needs for esteem, affection, belongingness, achievement, self-actualization, power and control. One of the advantages of knowing which needs exert the strongest influence on our own behaviors is the ability to understand how they affect our interpersonal relationships. For instance, most of us have probably known people who have a high need for status. They are attracted to high status occupations, and they seek high status positions within their organizations. Such people also want the things that symbolize their status. They insist that they be shown respect, and they want privileges and perks that people of lower status can't have. Sometimes these people fight for things that others see as inconsequential--like a bigger office. Needs cause motivation; and when needs are not satisfied, they can cause frustration, conflict and stress.
3.5 Emotions Emotional self-awareness is one of the five facets of emotional intelligence. Understanding your own feelings, what causes them, and how they impact your thoughts and actions is emotional self-awareness. If you were once excited about your job but not excited now, can you get excited again? To answer that question, it helps to understand the internal processes associated with getting excited. That sounds simpler than it is. Here's an analogy: I think I know how my car starts--I put gas in the tank, put the key in the ignition, and turn the key. But, my mechanic knows a lot more about what's involved in getting my car started than I do--he knows what happens under the hood. My mechanic is able to start my car on the occasions when I'm not because he understands the internal processes. Similarly, a person with high emotional self-awareness understands the internal process associated with emotional experiences and, therefore, has greater control over them.
4. Self-Management Skills Self-management skills are either inbuilt characteristics or learnt skills that help an individual to be productive both in his personal life and in the workplace. Individuals who have a checkered life are considered to possess either very little or sans any self-management skills.
4.1 Definition & Examples Self-management sounds like being your own boss, but it doesn’t mean setting up your own business. In fact it means taking responsibility for your own actions and doing things as well as you can. It shows you are able to organize yourself and offer your own ideas to any project. It’s about being the boss of YOU, not the boss of a team or company! Skills such as problem solving, resisting stress, communicating clearly, managing time, strengthening memory, and exercising often are all key examples of self-management skills.
4. Awareness on Social Evils With the onslaught of technology, most of our skills and value systems are endangered. Today’s youth is accessible to any sort of information be it informative or contributing to his doom. Considering a stark reality of human weakness, Social evils like drugs, smoking, Alcohol, vagabonding are eroding our social ethos. More and more people are succumbing to these social evils leading to increase in criminality and broken families.
Points to Remember Self-awareness is an integral part of life skills which helps us to have good and healthy relationships with people around us. Many a time without knowing about ourselves we tend to become judgmental about others, which will not only tarnish our image in the eyes of others, but also leads to breaking of relationships.
1. Do a short self-assessment in the form of a Psychometric analysis by the help of an Interview schedule 2. Categorizing the students based on the findings of the Interview schedule 3. Making the students answer a few self-assessment tests 4. Presenting a few videos on Importance of Self Awareness & Social evils 5. Conducting a personal SWOT Analysis
Chapter 4 Socialization & Interpersonal Skills Learning objectives After studying this Chapter, reader will be able to
Builds effective communication skills Builds effective interpersonal skills Matching required communication style to the situation Assertive rather than passive or aggressive behaviour Greater ability to handle difficult situations Ability to avoid conflict Ability to undertake relationship repair steps
1. Introduction Socialization is the process beginning during childhood by which individuals acquire values, habits, and attitudes of a society. Interpersonal skills are also learnt during the process of Socialization. Every job advertisement carries two main requisites- a. Good Communication Skills b. strong interpersonal Skills These skills are manifestations of one’s personality which determines a person’s Behavioural patterns. Interpersonal skills are the skills that facilitate communication and interaction with other people. Interpersonal skills are capabilities to effectively communicate, socialize, connect, and cooperate with people in life, whether it is an individual or a group. Good interpersonal skills can tremendously benefit relationships in life and can improve professional success. These are also life skills.
2. Socialization affecting Interpersonal traits Socialization is a journey from childhood to adulthood and all the acculturation happens during this journey. All the customs, traditions, culture, dogmas, value systems that get imbibed into a person is through socialization. For instance if a child is born in a highly conservative family, he/she will acquire the same culture, religion, caste or creed that he is born into. There is every possibility that he will grow up to be an individual who is strongly embedded with traditionality. He also could be an introvert. But the influencing factors like family, School, peer group, mass media and work place could have a cascading effect on his personality wherein he experiences a massive metamorphosis in his personality type. Even if a person is devoid of the required Interpersonal skills, the same can be acquired through formal training.
3. Communication Skills Communicating involves more than simply exchanging information. To be an effective communicator, you must understand your audience, measure your tone and volume, watch your body language, and apply some other communication skills. Basic communication skills constitute active listening, conducting successful meetings, effective business writing, effective Communication, effective presentations etc., One of the most important components of Communication skills are the listening skills. This chapter lays more emphasis on listening skills and assertiveness.
4. Listening Skills Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. Listening is key to all effective communication. ... Listening is so important that many top employers provide listening skills training for their employees. Though Listening being one of the most important skills it is the least practiced by man. This is a skill that gives us success both personally and professionally. Attention deficit hyper-activity disorder is the greatest impediment to listening. Most of the time we listen to what we want, and if it is not to our taste we tend to move away and miss out, maybe from a bundle of knowledge coming our way. Statistics reveal that only 25-50% is remembered of what is heard. “Listening is not Hearing. Listening and hearing are not the same. Hearing is the first stage of listening. Hearing occurs when our ears pick up sound waves which are then transported to our brain. This stage is our sense of hearing. Listening is a communication process and, to be successful, must be an active process. In other words, we must be an active participant in this communication process. In active listening, meaning and evaluation of a message must take place before a listener can respond to a speaker. Therefore, the listener is actively working while the speaker is talking. This happens because our thought speed is much faster than our speech speed. But be careful! Don't allow the thought speed to race into daydreaming. This habit will defeat our attempt to become an active listener.”
4.1 Improving Skills
Stay Focused Detect Emotions
Ask questions Do not interrupt Do not pre-empt Recap key facts
Keep Pen and paper handy Concentrate Maintain eye to eye contact
Do not day dream Have an open mind Do not get disturbed
4.1 Barriers to listening Skills Physical Barriers
People –Someone sitting beside you Noise Poor Defective mechanical Frequent interruptions Uncomfortable seating arrangements Uncomfortable environment Message overload
Physiological Barriers
State of Health – State of health of the listener and the speaker affects the listening ability Wandering attention
Psychological Barriers
Being unsure of the speaker’s ability Personal anxiety Attitude –egocentric with a “know it all attitude” Impatience Emotional blocks
5. Assertiveness Assertiveness is a skill regularly referred to in social and communication skills training. Being assertive means being able to stand up for your own or other people's rights in a calm and positive way, without being either aggressive, or passively accepting 'wrong'. Assertiveness means standing up for your personal rights - expressing thoughts, feelings and beliefs in direct, honest and appropriate ways. Assertive individuals are able to get their point across without upsetting others, or becoming upset themselves. Although everyone acts in passive and aggressive ways from time to time, such ways of responding often result from a lack of self-confidence and are, therefore, inappropriate ways of interacting. By being assertive we should always respect the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of other people. Assertiveness concerns being able to express feelings, wishes, wants and desires appropriately and is an important personal and interpersonal skill. In all your interactions with other people, whether at home or at work, with employers, customers or colleagues, assertiveness can help you to express yourself in a clear, open and reasonable way, without undermining your own or others’ rights. Assertiveness enables individuals to act in their own best interests, to stand up for themselves without undue anxiety, to express honest feelings comfortably and to express personal rights without denying the rights of others.
5.1 Assertiveness Vs Aggressiveness Assertive behaviors… • Assertive people are not afraid to express their opinions, and honor themselves by standing up for their beliefs • Assertive people respect others as equals, with the intention of exuding mutual respect • Assertive people are not afraid to express their needs to others • Assertive people value a fair exchange of ideas • Assertive people have no intention of hurting anyone, including themselves • Assertive people look for the win-win
Aggressive Behaviors… Aggressive behaviors are the converse Aggressive people come across as needing to win Aggressive people see hurting another as a biproduct of a “successful” communication or negotiation Aggressive people come across as attacking Aggressive people are self-focused instead of solution centered Aggressive people feed into others’ fears rather than confidence
5.2 Developing Assertiveness Steps developing Assertiveness The following steps can help you become more assertive in your everyday interactions with others:
1. Realize where changes are needed and believe in your rights Many people recognize they are being taken advantage of and/or have difficulty saying “no.” Others do not see themselves as unassertive but do feel depressed or unfulfilled, Nothing will change until the victim recognizes his/her rights are being denied and he/she decides to correct the situation. Talk to others about the appropriateness of being assertive in a specific situation that concerns you.
2. Figure out appropriate ways of asserting yourself in each specific situation that concerns you There are many ways to devise effective, tactful, fair assertive responses. Discuss the problem situation with a friend, a parent, a supervisor, a counselor or other person. Carefully note how others respond to situations similar to yours and consider if they are being unassertive, assertive or aggressive.
3. Practice giving assertive responses Role-play the problem situations with a friend or, if that isn’t possible, simply imagine interacting assertively. Start with real life but easy to handle situations and work up to more challenging ones expected in the future. For example, “I want you to be home by midnight,” “I don’t like the product and I want my money back,” “No, I don’t want to go drinking, I want to study.”
4. Try being assertive in real life situations Start with the easier, less stressful situations. Look for or devise ways of sharpening your assertiveness skills. Examples: Ask a friend to lend you a piece of clothing, a record album or a book. Ask a stranger for directions, or a pen or pencil. Ask a store manager to reduce the price of a soiled or slightly damaged article. Practice speaking and making small talk, give compliments to friends and strangers, call up a city official when you see something unreasonable or inefficient, praise others when they have done well,. Keep a diary of your interactions.
5.1 Role of Assertiveness at work place
It helps you to earn respect It helps you to control your emotions You'll be able to set boundaries It helps you to build your judgement It improves your body language It gives you the confidence to ask for what you want It teaches you to say NO
Points to Remember Make the decision to positively assert yourself. Aim for open and honest communication. Listen actively. Agree to disagree. Avoid guilt trips. Stay calm. Take a problemsolving approach to conflict. Practice assertiveness.
1. Creative and Spontaneous Thinking An example of a game to help improve creative and spontaneous thinking involves creating a story while each person builds on the story told by the person before them. This is beneficial for people involved in presentations and public speaking. The game begins by placing the same number of objects in a box to correspond to the number of participants in the group. In turn, each person picks an object from the box, without looking, and has 30 seconds to tell a story about the object. The facilitator should begin the story and the participants add the next part of the story. Each person’s story has to make sense and have some connection to the previous part of the story. After all the objects have been picked and each person participated in the story, the exercise can be repeated, or the group can discuss how each part of the story fit or did not fit in the overall story. Games make learning and improving interpersonal skills more enjoyable and thought provoking. It allows participants to develop skills to improve their ability to work as part of a group and with others on an individual basis. Keeping skills up to date and fine-tuned will increase productivity and remove barriers when working as a team. 2. Videos on Interpersonal skills and their importance both personally and professionally 3. Self-assessment of one’s own Interpersonal Skills in the form of self-learning
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